Pacific Opera Project launches their 10th anniversary season as only they can. They are pairing Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi with Ravel’s L’enfant et les Sortilèges. Los Angeles Opera has paired Puccini’s comic one-act with Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci in 2015 – a far more traditional pairing. But who said POP was traditional? Their performances begin on January 25th at Occidental College’s Thorne Hall. There are two additional performances on February 1st and 2nd.
Gianni Schicchi is the only comedic opera Puccini wrote. The story, which sounds like many families today, depicts the Donati family who are waiting on Buoso Donati to die so that they will inherit his riches and live the life of luxury they always wanted. When he does, damn the torpedoes.
In Ravel’s opera a young boy, after acting up one too many times, is sent to his room. While there, everything in his room comes to life. They have a message for the little brat about misbehaving.
So what do these operas have in common? Josh Shaw, director and designer, is linking them by having the young boy in L’enfant et les Sortilèges be Gherardino, the youngest of the Donati family. Shaw has stated that characters from Gianni Schicchi will somehow appear in this opera, too.
Joshua Horsch will conduct the three performances that all feature a cast of 16.
Traditional? No. But is Pacific Opera Project about traditions or creating new ones?
Photo of Gianni Schicchi by (Courtesy of Pacific Opera Project)